Customer Rudeness

I have no idea if it is a sign of the times or we have evolved into a new culture but the general rudeness of the public is astounding... I just had a woman call today to say she had left her sun roof open last night during a heavy, heavy and when I mean heavy it was pouring down rain from 6opm. to this morning. . she then proceeded to say it did not have a lot of water in it.. and asked what should I do...?

I said... you will need to bring the vehicle in so we can begin to remove the water and dry out immediately...at which point she started to scream,.... I can't leave it there?...what do you want me to do.?.. I have 3 children and don't have all day ? and continued ranting... I just listened while she hung up...

You can't!
People are so "culture derived" that they want instant gratification, and are, in reality, very insecure.
Which may explain why so many can't go longer than 10 minutes without using their cell phone to call someone they just talked in person with or text someone while driving.
We got to get more bleach into the gene pool, ASAP!
LOL!
Grumpy

I preface the following with the warning that this is just my own humble opinion, and that opinion combined with a buck and a half will get you a coffee.

This isn't a new phenomonen. I've spent more than 40 years in the auto industry, all of it in the parts and service side. People have always been rude, crude, vulgar, ignorant, and demanding towards the auto industry. I'm jaded and a pure cynic, but I also recognise that the industry created it's own monsters.

We've all seen, heard and/or experienced the shameless things done to customers in the this business; and, it's like almost every other business, it only takes a few "bad apples" to leave a terrible "taste in the mouth". As a direct consequence, many customers take their vehicles for service, expecting to be "ripped off", and/or badly treated.

As individuals we can only try to prove that we shouldn't all be "painted with the same brush", but bear in mind that whatever level and quality of service you choose to provide, you must ALWAYS maintain that same level, and even then remember that you "can't please all the people all the time" There are some customers that you are better off without.

She probably didn't set out to be rude to you personally. It sounds like she was just angry (at herself) for leaving the sunroof open and now with all the stress of organising 3 kids to school, etc, she just vented on unlucky you when you said something she wasn't ready to hear.

Some people are just like that. But then, some people are just out and out nice. Its easy to say this, but try not to take rude callers personally. This lady will probably come back to you when she gets herself sorted out so it will be a win-win situation if you don't tell her to p!ss off!

It my advanced years, I would have most likely told her to "piss off", and then followed up with something like, "there are actual humans out there that after hearing you talk would agree." or something like that.
Us old farts don't play well with such as this-(I use this term loosely) "lady".
Grumpy

While I would love to agree with Ketch, especially as I have gotten older and less tolerant of most anything.

But the proper way to deal with both complaining customers and/or rude customers is first of all to listen and listen. Repeat what you believe you have heard them say and then ask what you can do to satify them.

If they are just plain jerks and want to demean and talk down to you, remain calm and say something in a calm voice like, "I guess we cant satify you so it is probably best we don't do business together and excuse yourself.

On the phone if they start using profane language you simply say in a calm voice, "sir/miss, I don't have to listen to language like that when you calm down please call me back" and hang up.

Just thought I would revive this one with a story from today. I had a customer asking me about my services and prices, which I told him and qualified the prices with regards to higher standards of work compared to other local companies.

At that point, he referred to the other companies in an extremely racist and insulting statement. Now while I probably could have played up to him to get his business, it just was not sitting right with me. I just said, "sorry, we won't be doing business with you today" and I walked away from him.

I almost said, C U Next Tuesday... but you never know what sort of imbecile you are dealing with. I can't stand that sort of crap. Had to stick to my principles. A$$hole.

I deal with people involved in tragic situations daily. You wouldn't believe how many people wreck their cars w/o having rental insurance (which is about $30/yr). They freak out when I tell them it might take 30+ days before their car is repaired and back to them. All we can do is be patient and understanding as much as possible, but don't let people disrespect you. Be firm in your stance.

Gina-
Some people cannot be reasoned with. When you encounter those folks, you have to let them go away and forget about them. That said, I've encountered some extremely rude people at work , only to have them return later to apologize for their behavior . Maybe they were decent people who got nutty when under stress . At any rate, I was glad I had held my tongue with them instead of " going off " on someone who was later big enough to admit he was out of line .

One thing to watch out for is misunderstandings : ( example ) A police officer ordered a woman to move , whereupon she muttered an expletive under her breath . Upon hearing the expletive, the officer laid into her with a lecture about respect and courtesy toward law enforcement officers. She told me her expletive was simply meant as an expression of annoyance at her situation and not as disrespect to the officer. Had he understood her meaning, he would not have upset her further with a speech on civility .

The general rules on handling rude people are :

1) Set boundaries : " Sir, that foul language is unacceptable and I don't have to be spoken to in this manner ".

2) Don't further enrage a complainer with an annoying phrase like, " What I need you to do is..." He is in no mood to be assigned more aggravation. Phrases like, " Can you write down..." or " If you bring in..." are better.

3) Ask the complainant what he would consider a reasonable way to resolve the situation. ( Don't ask what he wants-Ask what would be reasonable. )

4) Don't personalize the conflict . Explain what is permitted by rules, the real world, time constraints, etc. but avoid making it a showdown between " me and you ". Don't say, " It is my shop and I can decide..., I'm not going to allow anyone to...I want..." .

5) When someone initially voices a complaint, show concern and let them explain it. Only after investigating, should you minimize or discount the severity. ( example ) " Oh really ? What does the damage look like ? " ( later ) " Don't worry. There is no serious damage. We'll see if those scratches will polish out. "